


May Time remain yours

by Desperate_Dr_Clone



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - River is the Master, Duality, F/F, Gallifreyan Language (Doctor Who), Introspection, It's Not Possession!!!, Not Canon Compliant, Poetic, Purple Prose, just appreciate the aesthetic, no literally this is just poetic nonsense stuffed into something resembling a fic, no this is maybe not as obvious as it ought to be, or something i guess, please don't ask how this AU works idk either, this is just a pretentious think piece, yes River and the Master are a single person, you can tell a language nerd wrote this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:27:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24726004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desperate_Dr_Clone/pseuds/Desperate_Dr_Clone
Summary: The Master was harsh and she was cold. The Master was a genocidal tyrant who, given half a chance, would not hesitate to kill her. But River? She was the Sun in June, she was all warmth and tenderness. River was the person whom she had loved for over two thousand years, River was the person who understood her better than anyone else ever had or would. And that photo? That piece of frozen time that showed the Doctor with an arm wrapped around a curly-haired woman whose head was thrown back with laughter? That was River.
Relationships: The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor/River Song
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23





	May Time remain yours

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to thank [Tilly](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/fifteen-flowers) for being the best beta reader ever and also being the reason this does not suck!! Not many people would listen to me whine about Human Duality at midnight but she did (still does!!) and I love her for it among many other things!
> 
> Anyhow, enjoy!!

The Doctor lazily stroked River’s warm back. She did not say anything, wishing she could freeze time. She didn’t want River, her River, her Master to leave. She rested her head against the Master’s shoulder, breathing in her scent:the forests, the sea air, the supernovas, she smelled them all on River’s skin. “Please don’t go,” she whispered.

River cupped and lifted the Doctor’s chin. “I’m right here, sweetie.” Through the dim lights, the Doctor felt River’s lips were darker than they were a minute ago. She knew the plants so well, their scent, their taste; they were home. River kissed her, softly, a chaste brush of lips tinted with passiflora. The Doctor’s eyes shut in spite of herself, it was always the price to pay. She slumped against River’s chest, gentle fingers combing through her hair.

The Doctor woke up alone. Her head ached and she had no idea how long she had slept. She sat up, a note laid on her bedside table, written in the Master’s messy circular Gallifreyan. 

_I am gone. May Time remain yours until we meet again._

***

“Doctor, who’s that?”

The Doctor turned her head at Ryan’s call. “Who’s who?”

“The lady in the photo.”

She got up, setting her work aside, and walked over to where Ryan was standing. He was holding a small frame, inside which the Doctor kept a picture of her and River, smiling and swaying.

“That’s the Master,” she said.

“The Master? Doctor, I don’t mean to be prejudiced or anything, but that’s a bit of a weird name, isn’t it?”

The Doctor bit her lip to repress a chuckle. _See,_ she thought, _I’m not the only one who thinks so._

“He— Sorry. . . She chose her name. Like I chose mine.” 

“Is she your girlfriend?” Ryan looked at her, smiling.

The Doctor’s stomach knotted. Was River her girlfriend? They were best friends, they were mortal enemies. Sometimes it felt like they were strangers, sometimes it felt like they’d been married since the universe was born. “Nah. . . She’s an old friend,” she answered cheerfully.

“Tell me about her!”

She sighed, tapping her index finger against the console. “We met when we were children, at the Academy. We were very close.” Images of their first faces, first kisses, ran through the Doctor’s mind as if not a day had passed. “We travelled together when we were young, but she went another way.” A thousand years’ worth of memories of utter chaos and devastation stabbed her where it hurt most. She shook her head and licked the wounds. “She’s. . . done some terrible things.”

“Right. . . but you’re like a billion years old, and that picture must be pretty recent, yeah? Are you two still friends?”

“We. . . It’s complicated. It’s harder to be angry with someone when they’re in front of you.”

“Oh, yeah, I get it.” An awkward moment of silence ensued. Ryan was the one to break it. “So, what were you two doing when that picture was taken? Looks like you’re having fun! You’re smiling. Both of you.”

The Doctor smiled, fondly. “It was the first time she saw me in this body. I was saving a planet from her. I took her out for dinner on Tiaanamat afterwards. They have some of the best fruit in the universe, you know! So we had dinner. And then we heard some music in the public square! We danced. The musicians were so good! They played the prettiest waltzes! It was such a beautiful night; just the two of us, and the band. She stroked the edge of the frame, as if she were stroking River’s face instead, as if she could make her materialise in the Tardis, as if she could make her stay. “I hadn’t seen her look this happy in a very long time. I really thought she would change after that; that she’d stop trying to conquer the world and that she’d just. . . learn to enjoy seeing it. She stayed the night.” The Doctor thought back to that night, the things they’d done behind shut doors. She shivered at the recollection. “But when I woke up she was gone. She left me the photo though. I’m not sure how she got it; I don’t remember anyone being there except us and, well, the band. She wrote a note at the back. Do you want to see it?”

“Sure,” Ryan answered. 

The Doctor removed the back of the frame and took out the photo. She placed the piece of paper in Ryan’s hand. “What does it say?”

“It means ‘Take care’ in Gallifreyan.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“It is, isn’t it!”

Yaz called for Ryan from somewhere in the Tardis. “Ah!” Ryan looked apologetic. “Sorry, I should go, see what she wants. You don’t mind, right?”

“No! Of course not! Go ahead!” She flashed him a big grin and he left. The Doctor looked down at the picture again. The bitter aftertaste of joy lingered on her lips still. 

The Master was not the same in all lighting. 

The Master was harsh and she was cold. The Master was a genocidal tyrant who, given half a chance, would not hesitate to kill her. But River? She was the Sun in June, she was all warmth and tenderness. River was the person whom she had loved for over two thousand years, River was the person who understood her better than anyone else ever had or would. And that photo? That piece of frozen time that showed the Doctor with an arm wrapped around a curly-haired woman whose head was thrown back with laughter? That was River.

She looked at the note again, tracing her thumb along the hastily drawn circles.

_I am gone. May Time remain yours until you find me again._

***

“Stop! River, please!”

The Master turned around. She was nonchalantly holding a stun gun, the wind blew her curls into her face. She looked the very image of exhilarated evil, yet her eyes flashed with. . . something the Doctor just might have called pain. Eternity passed; she went back to her usual cocky, smirking, unbothered self.

“Why should I?”

“Because people will die!” The Doctor shouted, as if that were even remotely likely to persuade her. “Because if you don’t, you’ll never see me again!” She’d blurted out the first threat that came to her, not especially meaning the words, but she realised they were true as she said them.

The Master chuckled. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I don’t buy it.”

“Oh, but you should.” The Doctor’s voice was surprisingly calm. She saw that look in the Master’s eyes, again.

They stared at each other, silently, hanging at the edge of Time. “Even if you were serious, why would I have a problem with that?”

“Because I think our relationship means something to you.”

The Master chuckled and raised her eyebrows. “Think again.” She turned her back to the Doctor and walked away.

“Master!” The Doctor called after her, ran towards her. “Master!” She grabbed her wrist. The Master looked at her. The Doctor pleaded with her eyes. “Please, don’t do this. I am begging you not to do this.” She caught her breath. “Please,” she whispered. “River, if you ever loved me, don’t do it.”

The Master seemed to soften and the Doctor thought she saw doubt in River’s eyes. She put her arm on the Doctor’s lower back and brought her close to her. Her mouth found the Doctor’s ear, and there, in their mother tongue, she whispered:

_I am gone. May Time remain yours._

Before the Doctor knew what was happening, she felt something cold against her temple. Every last one of her instincts told her to run, but she was already frozen into place. The Master freed her wrist from the Doctor’s hand, and all she could do was watch as her best friend, her archenemy, the love of all her lifetimes walked away, unbothered, never looking back.

**Author's Note:**

> If you leave kudos and/or comments it will make me really happy so please feel free to do it (even if you're reading this in 2030!)
> 
> Xx


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